WINNING TO THE FIRST JUMP SPRINT PROGRAM

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WINNING TO THE FIRST JUMP SPRINT PROGRAM

January 13, 2017

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So you’re confused on what sprints work on strength or power and what works on your leg speed? Should you just do the same thing every day? Can I just do strength work in the gym and leg speed on the bike? There are many questions as to what kind of sprints should be done, especially for the critical area of first jump acceleration. While I am a gym rat and my Olympic athletes train in the gym twice a week, it’s also important to address the specific energy systems of strength, speed and power on the bike, AND of course form! Form is critical in sprinting.

I am going to give you a quick and easy three week block of first jump sprint training that will help address two overall needs:

1. Sprinting Form
2. Sprinting Power

First and foremost, the number one priority I tell my top elite athletes is that form is the most important component when we sprint. Form is important for two reasons. One, you can not deliver effective power to the pedals if you are out of position which leads to the second reason. The second reason is limiting time delays between each pedal stroke usually caused by being out of position. By the time you get back into the proper acceleration position to deliver power that will be time loss regardless if you are the strongest guy putting out the most power! Playing catch up doesn’t really work in the game of first straight sprinting. Make sure to watch the videos below to get up to speed when about the proper acceleration position (form).

This will be an easy and short sprint program for you to follow along. We’re going to pick three sprinting categories and address each one during the week and do this for three weeks:
1. Strength Sprints – will be dedicated to sprinting form and strength work.
2. Speed Sprints – will be dedicated to sprinting explosive speed work.
3. Power Sprints – will be dedicated to sprinting power to the 30 foot mark.

This will ensure you hit all the specific energy systems and develop them individually so you can further go deep into developing power.

As far as when to do the sprints, just to keep it simple, you can load two sprint sessions on back to back days early in the week and the third session will be later in the week before you enjoy your weekend at the track.

For example:
Monday- Strength Sprints
Tuesday- Speed Sprints
Thursday- Power Sprints

If you want to integrate gym or track, you can do this:
Monday- Strength Sprints
Tuesday- Track
Wednesday- Gym/Speed Sprints
Thursday- Rest Day
Friday- Power Sprints
Saturday- Track and/or Gym
Sunday- Rest Day

I am going to give you three weeks of sprints to do, all you have to do is pick one for each session out of each category for that day. For example, on the first week your first sprint session you will pick from Strength Sprints Category. Your second sprint session of the week you will pick from the Speed Sprints Category. Your third and last session of the week you will pick from the Power Sprints Category. Pretty easy right?

STRENGTH SPRINTS CATEGORY
Goal: Working on strengthening acceleration position – core and leg strength.
You pick which one you want to do:
A. Uphill Box Sprints using racing gear and flat pedals.
B. Over-Geared Flat Ground Box Sprints using flat pedals (can choose gearing 2-3 times harder than race gear).
C. Over-Geared Flat Ground Box Sprints using an Opposite Foot Start (can choose gearing 2-3 times harder than race gear).

All Strength Sprint sessions will have the following parameters for you to follow:
Starting Method: Box sprint
Sprint Length: 5 Full Cranks (75 feet)
Volume: 10-12 Sprints
Rest Between Sprints: 2 minutes
Pedals: Flat pedals
Gearing: 1-3 teeth harder than race gear unless you’re going uphill.
Uphill Gradient (if you choose to do uphill sprints as opposed to flat ground: 4-6% is ideal.

SPEED SPRINTS CATEGORY
Goal: Developing explosive acceleration leg speed.
You pick which one you want to do:
A. Downhill Box Sprints using race gear and clip pedals.
B. Under-Geared Flat Ground Box Sprints using clip pedals (can choose 1-2 teeth easier than race gear).
C. Under-Geared Flat Ground Box Sprints Opposite Foot Start – using clip pedals (can choose 1-2 teeth easier than race gear).

All Speed Sprint sessions will have the following parameters for you to follow:
Starting Method: Box sprint
Sprint Length: 6 Full Cranks (90 feet)
Rest Between Sprints: 2 minutes
Volume: 12-14 Sprints
Downhill Gradient (if you choose to do downhill sprints option as opposed to flat ground: 3-4% is ideal.

POWER SPRINTS CATEGORY
Goal: Working on strengthening acceleration position – core and leg power.
You pick which one you want to do:
Flat Ground Box Sprints using race gear and clip pedals
Flat Ground Box Sprints Opposite Foot Start using clip pedals
Under-Geared Flat Ground Box Sprints – using clip pedals (can choose 1 teeth easier than race gear).

All Power Sprint sessions will have the following parameters for you to follow:
Starting Method: Box sprint
Sprint Length: 3 Full Cranks (45 feet – yes it’s really this short, keep them short please!)
Rest Between Sprints: 1 minute
Volume 16-20 Sprints

WARMING UP BEFORE YOU SPRINT!
Here is a warm up protocol you can do for each and every sprint session for the 3 weeks:
Warm up on bike seated, pedaling easy-medium tempo for 10 minutes and then start your sprint session with two of the type of sprints you’re doing that session at 75-90% and then start the sprint countdown! Cool down is 5-10 minutes soft pedaling.

WARNING: ALWAYS WEAR PROPER SAFETY EQUIPMENT. ALWAYS SPRINT ON BICYCLE FRIENDLY TERRAIN. ALWAYS SPRINT WITH SUPERVISION.

VIDEOS REFERENCES FOR YOUR SPRINT WORKOUTS
BOX SPRINT VIDEO SAMPLE